Tag lines that never were

An in-joke of advertising tag line folderol comes from on old colleague at a prominent Silicon Valley agency. The Fluke Corporation makes electronic test tools and in the early days of computers, monitors were often proudly branded with the company name. I cannot confirm that the Fluke Corporation ever considered the tag line “If it works, it’s a Fluke,” but it’s more memorable than the company’s current “Keeping your world up and running.”

Asterisk ratios are higher on public transportation.

Another colleague told me about the advertising executive who once had the job of promoting Lane Transit District, the transportation authority that serves (among other communities) Eugene, Oregon. At the time the LTA logo—familiar to the public because of ubiquitous bus stops—was simply referred to as “the asterisk” because of its similarity to the character, presumed to be roads branching out from a hub.

My colleague received this previously unpublished information first-hand from the account manager in charge. Within all the formal presentation of tag lines for the transportation authority, the klinker was “If you’ve got the asterisk, we’ve got the bus to ride.”